World Bank announces new India head
Onno Ruhl will take over from Roberto Zagha, who stepped down this month
New Delhi: Onno Ruhl, World Bank’s director for Operations Services and Quality in the South Asia region, has been appointed as the World Bank’s country director for India. He takes over from N.Roberto Zagha, who stepped down this month and is due to retire from the Bank in October. Zagha had been the country head since 2009 and had previously been associated with India on behalf of the Bank during the 1991 phase of economic reforms.
“I’m very pleased to announce Onno Ruhl as the new Country Director for India, “ Isabel Guerrero, World Bank Vice-President for the South Asia region said in a release. “His strong experience on finance and operations, and his leadership skills, will ensure that the Bank’s strategy for India is formulated and implemented in order to support the development objectives of one of our most important clients in these challenging times," she said.
A Dutch national, Onno Ruhl has been with the World Bank since 1993 and was Country Director for Nigeria between 2008 and 2011. He joined as Country Officer for Moldova and Armenia and has since held various positions within the Bank in East and Central Asia as well as Africa, the World Bank release said. He was also the Lead Private and Financial Sector Development Specialist in the Africa and Europe and Central Asia regions, when he provided leadership in creating and financing the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI).
Prior to joining the Bank, Ruhl was with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands government. His LinkedIn profile says Ruhl started his career teaching economics in Alkmaar, the Netherlands and his specialties are change management, economic strategy, post conflict reconstruction, private and financial sector development, monitoring and evaluation.
India is among the World Bank’s top borrowers and as of March 2012, the country’s total net commitments stood at $23.4 billion across 75 projects according to the World Bank website.
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!